The phone rings and the voice on the other end is firm, maybe even courteous, but not friendly.

You are told you owe for a traffic violation and if you don’t pay up within a given time someone will be there to arrest you.

You are told to go to drug store and purchase a “money card” for several hundred dollars to pay the fine and put you in the clear.

A common reaction to such a call, particularly among the elderly, is fear and confusion – did I get a ticket I don’t remember, or threw away? Do I have the money? I can’t go to jail, can I?

This is just the kind of reaction the caller wants, fear and confusion; you feel you have little choice but to follow directions – you have just been scammed.

This description is just one of the more recent efforts to scam money from Fountain Hills residents. There are dozens of scenarios – a loved one in jail, or involved in an accident in another state or another country and needing money, you have won a lottery, just send money to claim your prize – the list goes on.

According to Maricopa County Sheriff’s Capt. Dave Letourneau, when these callers target people in differing jurisdictions it is near impossible for a single law enforcement agency to track them down – the call may be coming from another state, or even another country.

Often the scammer will leave a phone number, it gives some legitimacy to their story.

Letourneau said detectives have used these phone numbers and called back.

“Detectives told the scammer the cops are on to them and it won’t work,” Letourneau said. “The response was, ‘Oh, yeah, it’s working just fine.’”

The phones are untraceable cell phones.

Protect yourself

The best way to face down these scammers is to educate the public so they simply do not fall for their lines.

In the case of the traffic scam, law enforcement and courts do not work that way. They don’t send you to Walmart to get a money card, Letourneau says.

Try to stay calm and use logic. There’s no need to engage the caller – there’s almost no chance of finding them – just hang up.

If you hear a loved one is in trouble away from home – don’t send money until you have checked it out. In most cases the loved one is not out of state or out of the country at all, but right where you expect them to be.

The Federal Trade Commission has a pamphlet outlining things to do to avoid fraud.

*Keep in mind that wiring money is like sending cash; once it’s gone you can’t get it back.

*Don’t send money to someone you don’t know.

*Don’t respond to messages that ask for your personal or financial information, whether the message comes as an email, a phone call, a text message, or an ad.

*Don’t play a foreign lottery; it’s illegal to play foreign lotteries.

*Don’t agree to deposit a check from someone you don’t know and then wire the money back, no matter how convincing the story.

*Read your bills and monthly statements regularly – on paper and online.

*In the wake of a natural disaster or another crisis, give to established charities rather than one that seems to have sprung up overnight. Visit ftc.gov/charityfraud for more information.

*Talk to your doctor before buying health products or signing up for medical treatments. Visit ftc.gov/health for more information.

*Remember there’s no such thing as a sure thing. Report such low risk, high return pitches to the FTC.

*Know where an offer comes from and who you are dealing with. Visit the Better Business Bureau at bbb.org.

Another useful website is onguardonline.gov to learn how to avoid Internet fraud, secure your computer and protect personal information.